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Open Forum
New Terror Law Controversy:STATES DEBATE IB CHIEF’s PROPOSAL, by Insaf, 29 November 2006 |
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Round The States
New Delhi, 29 November 2006
New Terror Law
Controversy
STATES DEBATE IB
CHIEF’s PROPOSAL
By Insaf
Various State Governments and their security agencies are
eagerly debating the controversy sparked off by Intelligence Bureau Chief ESL
Narasimhan at the Conference of Directors General of Police in New Delhi last week. Narasimhan had pitched for a special law to
tackle the growing terrorism in the country on the ground that the existing
legal framework was not adequate to deal with the new-age terrorists. The IB
Chief had made the demand in the presence of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at
the Conference. The PM did not react to the suggestion at that time but
responded three days later at a seminar on “Law, Terrorism and Development.” There
was no need for a new law, he said, and added that the authorities should take
recourse to “stringent measures” under existing laws to tackle the scourge and,
among other things, “cut off” the illegal flow of money to terrorists through
money laundering and organized crime.
The State Police Chiefs and several retired DGPs and security
experts Insaf has spoken to on the issue
are fully with the IB Chief’s observation on the threat posed to the country by
new-age and other forms of terrorism.
Narasimhan had observed that “having large financial and material
resources at their disposal, terrorist groups are able to use modern
communication system and state-of-the-art technology to pursue their agenda”…
Most security agencies and the Police chiefs in the States have now begun to
increasingly feel that they do not have adequate wherewithal to tackle the
terrorists who have become more sophisticated, better networked and highly
motivated in carrying out their diabolical designs. Of greater concern is the
threat to internal security, their linkage with organized crime, drug
trafficking, gun-running and money laundering, as reflected in the debates in
the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha.
* * * *
ULFA Steps Up
Violence
The United Liberation Front of Asom (ULFA) is spreading its
tentacles by the day. Taking advantage of the ceasefire between
August-September last, the organization regrouped its forces, recruited
Bangladeshi migrants, got a large number of its cadres trained in Pak-occupied
Kashmir (PoK) and managed to equip itself with modern weaponry. It struck four
bomb blasts in Assam since the
November 5 twin blasts that killed 14 persons. The latest on November 22 was in
the high-security zone of Guwahati, killing three persons and injuring more
than a dozen. Alarmingly, the group is focusing its attacks on the
Hindi-speaking people from Bihar, UP and Rajasthan settled in Assam.
They have now extended their activities to northern Bengal
with the assistance of local
insurgent groups. Their first target was a blast in the Haldibari passenger train, first of its kind in West Bengal.
* * * *
Impact Of SC Order
Against Mayawati
The Supreme Court’s ruling that the prosecution of the BSP
Chief and former UP Chief Minister, Mayawati in the Rs.175-crore Taj Heritage
Corridor scam be reopened has affected the ongoing process
of social and political realignments prior to the crucial Assembly elections in the State. The immediate impact
is expected to be felt in the relationship which the Congress has been slowly building with Mayawati’s
BSP. Both parties are vehemently opposed
to Mulayam Singh’s Samajwadi Party (SP) and his governance. But the move is
unlikely to succeed now. The BJP too has
rejected any post-poll tie-up with the BSP in the event of a hung Assembly. Mayawati’s efforts to woo upper caste votes
may also not materialize since the CBI will be framing fresh charges against
her.
* * * *
AICC Directive To Punjab Leaders
With the Assembly
elections in Punjab barely three months away,
the Central leadership of the ruling Congress
has directed the State PCC to ensure unity, so vital for retaining power. The
AICC General Secretary Janardhan Dwivedi has rapped former Lok Sabha member
Jagmeet Singh Brar, a known critic of Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, for
openly speaking against the State leadership.
Brar has been specifically told to refrain from going public with his
criticism and to work closely with other State leaders for the upcoming
poll. The Chief Minister has also been
asked to stamp out factionalism in the State unit. Following a similar AICC
advice to the Punjab leaders few months ago,
there was a brief lull in the wrangling. But Brar is at it again publicly against
his bete noire.
* * * *
Militancy Takes New
Turn In J&K
Militancy in Jammu
and Kashmir is hopefully taking a new turn. For the
first time since it reared its ugly head more than a decade ago, as many as 20
militants from different outfits have surrendered and laid down arms in front
of the GOC of an Army Division. Most of
them had crossed over to PoK for
arms training between 1993 and 2002. The
Centre and the State Government are watching the encouraging trend with
interest, against the backdrop of continuing violence in the State. The militants are, however, continuing their
attacks on security forces and Government buildings. On Tuesday, Dr. Shameena
Badroo, wife of former Hizbul Chief and an Army major were critically injured
in two gun battles in Chanpora and Bijbehara respectively. Three days earlier, a gun fight took place in
Neldora village in south Kashmir in which four
Army personnel and one militant were killed.
* * * *
Bonanza For Godhra
Victims
The UPA Government at the Centre has finalized a relief
package for the 2002 Gujarat riot victims. It will be a one-time compensation on the
lines of the relief the Centre awarded to the 1984 Sikh riot victims. What is more, the compensation will not only
cover the casualties but also those who are staying in semi-permanent
camps. The package provides that the
next of kin of a deceased would get Rs.7 lakh, minus the compensation paid so
far. The move will come as a relief for several Muslim families which have
received hardly any assistance from
the Gujarat Government, despite suffering loss
of their property and that of near and dear ones. The National Human Rights
Commission (NHRC) has identified
5,307 displaced families which have not been settled so far.
* * * *
AIDS Virus Spreads
To 20 States
The dreaded HIV/AIDS virus has created an alarming
situation. It has now spread to as many as 163 districts in 20 States. The
highest number of districts is in Andhra Pradesh (21 of the 25 districts),
Karnataka (24 of 27), Maharashtra (30 of 36).
The new “entrants” in the list of AIDS-affected districts are New Delhi, eight
districts in Bihar, five in UP, five in Madhya Pradesh, three in Punjab
including Chandigarh, two in Rajasthan and one in Haryana. Other States affected by the virus are Sikkim, Tripura, Arunachal
Pradesh, Assam,
Meghalaya, J&K, Jharkhand and Andaman
Nicobar Island.
In view of the speed with which the virus is spreading in the country, the
National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO) has programmed that each of the 611
districts affected by the disease will have a link worker for implementing the
control programme at the district level.
* * * *
Pulling Out Hand
Rickshaws From Kolkata
Kolkata will soon be missing
what is loosely described as the city’s “heritage” road transport, the hand-pulled
rickshaw. Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee wants to see them off the
roads as early as possible. He has got the present winter session of the State Assembly
extended by four days to get a Bill passed
for withdrawal of these rickshaws from Kolkata.
The session, scheduled to adjourn
on November 30, has been extended to December 4. The Government had actually
introduced the Bill during the Monsoon session
in July last. But it could not be passed following resistance from the Opposition. The Congress
had initially opposed it. But it will now
support the move as the Chief Minister has assured
a rehabilitation package for all the licensed rickshaw pullers.---INFA
(Copyright,
India News and Feature Alliance)
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Desperate Moves In U.P.:MULAYAM MAY PREPONE ASSEMBLY POLL, by Insaf,23 November 2006 |
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Round The States
New Delhi, 23 November 2006
Desperate Moves In
U.P.
MULAYAM MAY PREPONE
ASSEMBLY POLL
By Insaf
All political eyes are now on Uttar Pradesh and its Chief
Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav. Even though the term of the present State Assembly ends only in May next, new desperate moves
are on for the crucial poll. In an attempt to cut his losses,
Mulayam Singh is said to be actively considering dissolution
of the Assembly for an early poll, possibly in February. The move is prompted by several
factors. More than anything else, his Government is increasingly under attack
by his main rivals, the BSP, BJP and the Congress,
following the ruling Samajwadi Party’s dismal performance in the recent civic polls. The CM also
feels unnerved by the Congress President,
Sonia Gandhi’s recent statement that free and fair elections are not possible
in U.P. under Mulayam Singh’s Government.
Adding to Mulayam Singh’s concern is Governor T.V. Rajeshwar’s
report to the Centre on poll violence and rigging by the Government machinery in
the recent local body elections. This has
created in the minds of the Samajwadi Party leaders an apprehension that the
UPA Government at the Centre is perhaps preparing to clamp President’s rule on
the State. However, a section in the
ruling party rubbishes such a possibility
and wants the Assembly to complete
its full term. This would give Mulayam
Singh enough time to draw lessons
from the civic poll and consolidate his Muslim and Christian support. He has already decided to move a resolution
in the Assembly calling on New Delhi to bring the dalit
Muslims and Christians under the ambit of reservations. The CM has felt
encouraged to do so by the Sachar Committee report on the plight of Muslims.
* * * *
Bonanza To Punjab Farmer
The Congress
Government in Punjab, led by Amarinder Singh,
has blessed the State’s farmers with
a bonanza in the run-up to the Assembly
polls. A new land acquisition policy that provides big relief to them has been
finalized. It gives more rights to the
farmers and bars official acquisition of land on “whimsical” grounds. Rehabilitation of farmers whose land is
acquired by the Government for any “public purpose” has been made mandatory.
Importantly, compensation for the land has to be at the market price. Guidelines have also been laid down on what
constitutes “public purpose”. No forcible acquisition of land will be allowed
to urban development agencies or improvement trusts. All requests for
acquisition of land for developmental projects will have to be made at the
State level through the State Land Acquisition Board. Any intention to acquire land will have to be
announced through a notification spelling out the public purpose.
* * * *
W. Bengal Congress Remains Divided
The West Bengal Congress
continues to suffer acutely from what has facilitated the Left Front to remain
in power in the State for 27 long years: divided leadership and weakened
cadres. The party is divided once more over the selection of the PCC President.
While Information and Broadcasting Minister P.R. Dasmunsi has thrown in his hat
for the coveted position, in addition to his assignment
at the Centre, as many as ten MLAs and 12 district chiefs of the party have
visited Delhi
and tried to convince Sonia Gandhi of the need to have a “full time” Pradesh
Chief. They told her candidly that “unless
you have a chief totally committed to State politics, the Congress has no hope in West Bengal.” They have pitched for former PCC Chief Somen
Mitra who, they claimed, had a record of good electoral performance during his
earlier tenure between 1992 and 1998.
* * * *
Transforming N-E
Into Exports Gateway
A move is on to transform the north-eastern region of the
country into an exports gateway to the world. Union Minister for Development of
North-East Region (DONER), Mani Shankar Aiyer announced this at a two-day meet
of the North-Eastern Council (NEC) in New Delhi last week. He disclosed a slew
of proposals on the anvil in this regard. These include the development of
international access corridors to
Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh, access
to the proposed Asian Highway and strengthening and expansion of Land Customs
Stations that function as authorized trade routes. Proposals have also been made on high
priority basis for improving air connectivity within the region, as also with
other South Asian countries. Commodities
with high export potential from the region will be identified and policies
reoriented to make the north-east region truly an exports gateway.
* * * *
Crime Control In
Nitish’s Bihar
Derided as the Columbia of the East not so long ago because
of kidnapping crimes, Bihar is now turning “a new leaf.” Chief Minister Nitish Kumar made this claim on
Friday, November 24 as he completed one year in office. He has attributed this improvement in the
State’s law and order situation within one year to proactive judiciary,
initiatives taken by the State police and non-interference by the political
leadership. Criminals used to be easily
let off the hook for various reasons. But, as the CM has stressed, that is not the case any more. He has claimed
that speedy convictions have become the order of the day and there have been
cases in the recent past when criminals have been convicted within two or three
days. It is officially stated that in less
than one year 4,730 criminals were convicted.
* * * *
Azad’s Formula To
Raise Funds
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad has found a
formula to raise money for the State exchequer: sell the illegally occupied
Government land to the people at a concession.
It is estimated that about 2.5 lakh acres of Government land is under illegal
occupation for decades. At the current
market price this land costs about Rs.25,000 crore---an amount more than the
annual budget of the State for the past ten years. The State Cabinet decided last week that those
who would buy the land and pay its cost within three months will be entitled to
30 per cent discount. Those who pay within six months will get 15 per cent off
and those who do it in one year will get 10 per cent concession. Azad
hopes to sell the entire illegally occupied land within one year and help his
J&K Government pocket a major windfall.
* * * *
Himachal Ground
Water Act
Himachal Pradesh is the first State in the country to
legislate the use and regulation of ground water. The State Government, led by Virbhadra Singh,
has passed the Ground Water Act and
rules have been framed for its implementation from early next year. Under the rules, the State Government will set
up a Ground Water Authority (GWA) to monitor and control the use of depleting
ground water. It will also notify critical areas where no withdrawals will be
permitted or restrictions will be imposed on existing users. Also, all
contractors and drilling agencies engaged in the job will have to get
registered with the GWA which will give or cancel permission
to draw ground water. The falling water table in Hamirpur, Kangra, Bilaspur and
Shimla districts is causing increasing concern to the State Government.
* * * *
Raje Walks The Ramp
Vasundhara Raje, Rajasthan’s vivacious Chief Minister, has
earned another first. Incredibly enough, she walked the ramp at a fashion show
in Jaipur the other day to showcase the international fashion designer Bibi Russel’s khadi collections. Her mission?
Popularise khadi in the State and stop the slow but sure decline in khadi
production in the State over the last few years. Rajasthan produced khadi worth Rs. 40 crore through
one lakh weavers in 1996-97. But during 2005-06, khadi production slumped to
about Rs.20 crore and the number of weavers associated
with the cottage industry came down to about 60,000. Simultaneously,. she has
got the Khadi and Gramodyog Board to draw up a plan to improve the quality of
the fabric and boost its sales.---INFA
(Copyright, India News and Feature
Alliance)
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Political Scenario In U.P.:CIVIC POLL REFORMS NEEDED, by Insaf,15 November 2006 |
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Round The States
New Delhi, 15 November 2006
Political Scenario
In U.P.
CIVIC POLL REFORMS
NEEDED
By Insaf
The recent civic polls in U.P. have attracted greater
political attention than such exercises normally do at the national level. Held as these were in the run-up to the
crucial Assembly elections early
next year, the results and voting trends were significant for all political
parties and so also accusation of widespread rigging. These left the Samajwadi Party Government of
Mulayam Singh vulnerable to an opposition clamour for a Bihar-type multi-phased
Assembly election to avoid a repeat
of violence and rigging. Even the
Governor, T.V. Rajeshwar, sent a report to the Union Home Ministry, castigating
the role of the Government for the poll violence and the way the election
schedules were worked out. The report
even led the opposition parties to demand that the Assembly
poll be held under Central rule. Union
Minister of State for Home Jaiswal publicly hinted at such a possibility.
These developments clearly call for the need for reforms in
the conduct of local body elections in the States, especially when there is
increasing movement towards decentralization of governance. The elections for
the local bodies are presently conducted by the State Governments which have
its own Election Commissioners and
officers at the local level. Now that the local elections are being fought on
party basis and much importance attaches to them for wielding power at the grassroots, they too need to be conducted by the
Election Commission to ensure a free
and fair poll and avoid a repeat of what came to pass
recently in U.P. Importantly, successive Chief Election Commissioners
have advocated strengthening the Election Commission
both at the Centre and in the States and providing it the wherewithal to
conduct free and fair polls at all levels. However, these suggestions have not
yet received the attention they deserve in the interest of a truly
representative democracy.
* * * *
States Oppose
Police Reforms
Most States have expressed
difficulty in complying with the Supreme Court order on Police reforms before
December 31. The apex Court had in its
judgment on September 22 last directed the Centre and the State Governments to
implement police reforms based on recommendations of several panels, especially
the National Police Commission. The Court
had suggested the Constitution of a National Security Commission at the Centre and a similar body in the States,
a mechanism to weed out political interference in the appointment of DGPs and
heads of para-military organizations, a fixed tenure for the DGPs and senior
officers, separation of investigations from the police wing involved in the
maintenance of law and order and setting up of Police Establishment Boards and
Police Complaints Authorities.
At a meeting convened by the Union Home Secretary in New Delhi on Tuesday, the
Chief Secretaries and DGPs from the States agreed with the Centre to push for
the police reforms as directed by the Supreme Court. But most of them put
forward their problems in meeting the Court’s deadline of 31 December for
various reasons. Generally, the officers from the States told the Centre that
the reforms could not be undertaken because of shortage of personnel in their
police forces and the wide-ranging duties they were required to perform on the
law and order front. The real reason for
their opposition to reforms, however, stems from the politicians. They do not want to let go their influence,
indeed de facto control, over the police force especially at the local level.
* * * *
Amarinder’s Vikas
Yatra In Punjab
It is back-to-the-people time for the Punjab
politicians in the run-up to the Assembly
polls about three months away now. Leading the Congress
campaign, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh undertook a three-day “Vikas Yatra”
(some call it “Road Shows)” across
the State over the week-end along with his official paraphernalia. He managed to reach out to a large number of
people, even in the Akali bastion of Malwa region. He mingled with the people, heard their
grievances against his administration and in some cases dictated orders for
on-the-spot settlement of their demands, including sanction of power
connections to the farmers. Of great interest was the manner in which the erstwhile
Maharaja mingled with the people, ate his lunch sitting atop a sand dune,
conversing with bare-bodied farmers and administering polio drops to the
children on Sunday last. The idea was
not only to propagate the “strides” Punjab has
made under his Government but translate the feel good factor into votes.
* * * *
Karunakaran’s DIC
Merges With NCP
Veteran 88-year-old leader from Kerala, K. Karunakaran is
back to active national politics. After an unceremonious exit from the Congress and desertion by the CPM, his one-year-old
tearaway outfit, Democratic Indira Congress
(DIC) has now finally merged with the Nationalist Congress
Party (NCP) of Sharad Pawar. The merger terms are that he will be involved in
the NCP’s politics at the national level, will back the ruling Left Front in
Kerala and be an ally of the UPA at the Centre.
In other words, both the Congress
and the CPM will have to live with him. Initially, the CPM, which leads the
Left Front Government in Kerala, had opposed the DIC’s merger with the NCP,
presently an ally of the ruling Front. Karunakaran has described the merger as
a “reunion of parties having the Congress
culture and tradition”.
* * * *
Terror Continues
Unabated In Kashmir
Terrorism by Pakistan-backed militant outfits continues
unabated in Kashmir. Barely three days prior
to the Foreign Secretary-level talks between India
and Pakistan,
it struck the Valley on Friday last. A grenade attack on a religious congregation
in South Kashmir’s Pulwama district killed at
least five people and left about 40 badly injured. The attack has set a new trend. The militants
hire a local youth for a one time action at a price. In this case it was just Rs.1,000
for throwing on the congregation the grenade handed over to him. According to
the Pulwama DIG, the attack was aimed at creating panic among the followers of
Barailvi school of thought. Some terror
outfits are opposed to this school which encourages shrine worship and teaches
secularism. On the same day, another grenade was thrown at a CRPF picket at
Hanuman Mandir in Srinagar. Eight people were injured in this attack.
* * * *
Goa’s Higher
Education Plan
Tiny Goa may soon become an international education centre,
if a plan just drawn up by the State Government is faithfully implemented. The public sector Education Development
Corporation for promoting higher education in the State is developing an
educational estate at Verna in south Goa. It is in the process of acquiring land for the proposed estate. The plan is to develop the entire
infrastructure, including common facilities at the estate and then to attract
reputed national and international higher educational institutions to set up
their branches. The Corporation is presently finalizing the entire proposal of
infrastructure development to seek Government funds in the coming State budget
for 2007-08. The project already has the blessing
of Chief Minister Pratapsinh Rane.
* * * *
Commonwealth Boon
for Haryana
Delhi’s Commonwealth Games-2010 have now become the buzzword
in neighbouring Haryana too. The State Government is cashing in on the
hospitality boom. It has identified a major chunk of land around the Union Capital
Region (NCR) for building budget and star hotels. It is estimated that a total of abut 400
acres of land may be put on the block. The hotel project is proposed to be
handed over to the public-private partnerships.
Seeing the boom in the hospitality business,
the State Government has already started auctioning hotel plots in Gurgaon. It
has also offered to the Games organizers help for building Games infrastructure
in Delhi. In fact, this plan may
ultimately end up with the creation of a “tourism economic zone” close to the Union
capital.---INFA
(Copyright, India News and Feature
Alliance)
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ULFA Renews Violence:GOGOI TAKES TOUGH STANCE, by Insaf,8 November 2006 |
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Round The States
New Delhi, 8 November 2006
ULFA Renews
Violence
GOGOI TAKES TOUGH
STANCE
By Insaf
Renewed violence with greater vigour by the ULFA militants
is causing concern to both the Centre and the Congress
Government in Assam. After the
Centre failed to persuade the separatists to negotiate a peaceful settlement,
the militants struck on Sunday last with two bomb blasts in Guwahati, killing
14 people and badly injuring over 50. Most worrying about the attack was their
changed strategy. Earlier the militants were targeting mainly security forces
and vital installations. This time they hit the common, innocent men, women and
children, on the pattern of the Pakistan’s
ISI-trained jehadi militants in Jammu
and Kashmir. In fact, their association
with the ISI men operating from across
the Bangladesh
border has been established beyond doubt.
A Central team, headed by Home Secretary Vinod Duggal rushed
to Guwahati and found their worst fears confirmed: the rebels had mainly bought
time by pretending to hold peace talks with the Centre. They only wanted to buy time and re-group
themselves for their mission to
establish a “sovereign Asom”. Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi too is greatly upset
and has reason to be so, having made determined efforts over the past five
years to get the ULFA leadership to eschew violence and reach a negotiated
settlement. Gogoi has gracefully admitted security failure that caused Sunday’s
blasts and declared that counter-insurgency operations will be worked out afresh
and the ULFA made to realize that violence does not pay. The Centre has assured
Gogoi full support. Duggal told Insaf on
return from Guwahati: “ULFA will now be hit and hit hard.”
* * * *
Disturbing Development
In Nagaland
Also causing concern to the Centre are reports of the latest
scenario in Nagaland, now that the long-drawn talks between the Centre and the
National Socialist Council of Nagaland (I-M) have ended in an impasse once again. The NSCN (IM) is already running a
de facto “Government of the Peoples’ Republic
of Nagalim” (GPRN) from
its headquarters near Dimapur. Incredibly enough, the GPRN has well-oiled
Finance and Home Departments. It collects “taxes” and its “crime suppression department” maintains law and order. Its
directives are followed by the people, many of whom feel that life in the city
has become orderly under its dispensation. Casual workers moving into Nagaland now
require a resident permit issued by
the NSCN (IM). A fee of Rs.250 is
reportedly charged for the permit, a laminated document with a photograph of
the holder. The NSCN (IM) is thus so
well-placed that it has adopted an incremental approach in its quest for
sovereignty and territoriality.
* * * *
BJP’s Come-Back Bid
In UP
The much-talked-about civic body elections in UP last week,
which were considered as the semi-final in the run-up to the Assembly poll early next year, have given the BJP an
unexpected new lease of life. At the same time, it is a wake-up call for Chief
Minister Mulayam Singh and his Samajwadi Party, a satisfaction to Mayawati and
her BSP and a worrisome outcome to the Congress. The biggest gainer is the BJP which has
regained its hold over the urban areas, as reflected by the Mayoral polls. Written
off as having been marginalized, the BJP has retained the corporations of Ghaziabad, Agra, Varanasi, Aligarh and Lucknow and won Gorakhpur, Meerut and Kanpur.
The Congress could win only Allahabad, Bareilly and Jhansi. The ruling
Samajwadi Party could win only one corporation, Moradabad.
Obviously, the SP has failed to revive its popularity among the Muslims
and traders.
Despite all-out efforts by Mulayam Singh to woo the Muslims
and traders, the two communities have forsaken the SP and moved to the Congress. Nevertheless, the SP has retained its hold on the Nagar
Panchayats and Nagar Parishads. Of the 191 Nagar Parishad, the SP won 81, BJP
37, Congress 10, RLD of Ajit Singh 3
and Independents 34, 26 of whom were reportedly supported by Mulayam
Singh. Of the 414 Nagar Panchayats, the
SP won 185, the BJP 48, Congress 16,
RLD 6 and Independents 122. Mayawati’s BSP did not field any candidate on her
party ticket, but it has claimed that most of the Independents and other party
candidates it supported have won. The
Congress may claim to have improved its
overall performance. However, Amethi, Rahul’s Lok Sabha constituency has
administered it a rude shock. All its candidates lost.
* * * *
BJP Triumph In
Madhya Pradesh
The BJP and its Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan have
every reason to rejoice over the victory of the party candidates in two
byelections in the State---one for the Vidisha Lok Sabha seat and other for the
Bada Malhera Assembly
constituency. Both the constituencies
are known to be the BJP’s stronghold. However, the byelections posed major
challenge for the party, especially for Chief Minister Chouhan, thanks to Uma
Bharti, once a popular BJP leader in the region and former Chief Minister. She
went all out to oppose the BJP and humble it by putting up candidates of her
newly-formed Bharatiya Janashakti Party (BJP) after her expulsion from the BJP.
It was a tough BJP versus BJP fight especially for the Bada Malhera Assembly seat. This was first held by Uma Bharti and
later by Chauhan. Both had won with big
margins.
* * * *
Punjab Poll Jitters
The most difficult and controversial task of selecting the
ruling Congress candidates for the
upcoming Assembly poll in Punjab has
begun. Chief Minister Amarinder Singh is
strongly of the view that the party should not hesitate to drop at least 25
sitting MLAs from the list of its nominees.
This view has reportedly been supported by the AICC. Both are in agreement that non-performing
legislators and those likely to lose should be kept out if the Congress is to retain power. The leadership has already assessed the
performance of the sitting MLAs and has come to the conclusion that at least 25
need to be replaced by those who have better wining chances. There is a general agreement among the State
leaders that the Congress faces an
uphill task in Punjab where the party won comfortably in the 2002 Assembly poll, bagging 65 of the 117 seats.
* * * *
Basu Ticks Off
Buddhadeb
The CPM patriarch and former Chief Minister of West Bengal,
Jyoti Basu, has finally ticked off his successor,
Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, after lying low about the latter’s policies and style of functioning. Last week, he criticized the Chief Minister
for keeping the Left Front allies of the ruling coalition in the State out of
the loop while striking deals with the Tatas and other business houses. He
cautioned the Chief Minister at a Left Front meeting in Kolkata about the
dangers of not keeping the party’s partners informed about its policies. Basu
also forced Bhattacharjee to apologise for his recent remarks against some
allies. The CM had sarcastically said that some of them were raising doubts
over the Tata Motors project only to get media publicity. Basu advised: “You are the Chief Minister.
You should be restrained in your comments.”
* * * *
Karnataka’s Rural
Development Plan
The Karnataka Government has chalked out a massive Rs.1000-crore special rural development
programme for its villages. The programme, “Suvarna Grama” would be launched in
one thousand villages, to start with. Each village will be allocated Rs.1 crore
for its overall development in the next financial year. According to the Rural Development and
Panchayat Raj Minister, C.M. Udasi, the programme is intended to remove
regional imbalance. It will include works such as improving roads, providing
drinking water, income-generation schemes for farmers and education and health
for children. Ministers incharge of
various districts have been asked to identify the villages where the programme
could be implemented within three months. ---INFA
(Copyright, India News and Feature
Alliance)
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ISI Hand Clearly Seen:TERROR PLOT TO TARGET SOUTH INDIA, by Insaf,2 November 2006 |
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ROUND THE STATES
New Delhi, 2 November 2006
ISI Hand Clearly
Seen
TERROR PLOT TO
TARGET SOUTH INDIA
By Insaf
All the twenty-two border and coastal States of the Union
are today on red alert, thanks to the spreading tentacles of the terrorists,
sponsored and assisted mainly by Pakistan’s
Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and some other foreign-based militant
organizations. Only last week, Insaf highlighted the security agencies’ concern
about the ISI and how the latter were trying to smuggle their agents into India through
the West Coast States and across the
Punjab-Rajasthan border. The ISI now seems eager to spread its terrorist
activities to the southern States of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. On Friday last week, two Pakistani terrorists
were intercepted in Mysore, while they were
planning to blow up two main seats of power in Bangalore---Karnataka’s magnificent Vidhan Soudha
and its annexe Vikas Soudha.
On the same day the Kerala Police went into a tizzy when emails
threatened assassination of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and
President Kalam in case any harm came to Afzal, who has been sentenced to death
for the attack on India’s
sovereign Parliament. Importantly,
however, the catch in Mysore
clearly indicated that terrorists are beginning to turn their attention to the
southern States. Worse, investigating
agencies have discovered an ISI-LTTE nexus to target south India. The
Pakistani terrorists arrested in Mysore have been
found by intelligence agencies to have links with Colombo,
from where the ISI is now planning and monitoring subversive activity in South India. Another anti-terrorist agency has found that
the ISI-LTTE combine has taken over a place in Bangalore
which had so far been used by the narcotics circuit that linked Karachi with Colombo.
* * * *
BJP Panics In UP?
Civic polls in UP are receiving from the BJP much greater
significance than these have ever received from a national political party in
the State or elsewhere in the country. The reason is not far to seek. Secret
surveys by the State party have shown that its already poor representation in
the State Assembly is likely to be
reduced by at least half early next year.
The party has no more than 83 MLAs in the present 403-member Assembly. But
this is likely to get slashed to barely 40.
Some Central BJP leaders no doubt claim that extra-attention is being
paid to the civic polls since the outcome of these elections is bound to have
its fallout in the Assembly poll. Yet
the fact remains that the party leadership has felt constrained to persuade
Atal Behari Vajpayee to campaign for the party’s candidate for the Lucknow
Mayor’s election. Interestingly,
Vajpayee has never before campaigned for local polls. Some panic.
* * * *
Congress-NCP Battle
For Civic Polls
Congress Chief
Sonia Gandhi too has done a Vajpayee, so to say. Like the former PM, she has
also jumped into the local body poll fray. The Congress
President flew into Maharashtra over the
week-end virtually to launch the Congress
campaign for the local elections in the State in January. What is more, she
will be addressing five rallies in
different parts of the State as part of the party’s battle for supremacy vis a
vis the Nationalist Congress Party
(NCP) of Sharad Pawar within the coalition Government. The latest struggle between
the two parties in the local body elections is bound to have long- term repercussions on the relationship of the two UPA allies who
share power at the Centre and also in Maharashtra and Goa. It could even help the Shiv Sena indirectly to
retain the politically-important Mumbai Corporation, which goes to the polls in
February.
* * * *
Farmers On
Centre-Stage In Punjab
Farming and farmers have catapulted to the centre-stage of Punjab’s electoral politics. In the run-up to the Assembly poll early next year, increasing rural
indebtedness has become the hottest
topic of the poll scene. Farmers, who
constitute about 66 per cent of the State’s population have come into such a
sharp focus following a mammoth rally of at least one lakh farmers organised by
the Akalis recently at the Matka Chowk, Chandigarh’s Hyde Park, to seek a
loan-waiver and protest against the shabby treatment meted out to them by the
Centre. The ruling Congress, too, is going all out to woo the farmers. The State Government is buying electricity
for as high as Rs.8 per unit to ensure that the farmers, who get it free, have
enough in the run-up to the polls. Its
Chief Minister, Amarinder Singh, recently announced a hike of Rs.50 per quintal
in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for wheat to the joy of Punjab’s unrivalled
farmers.
* * * *
Vidarbha Demand
Revived
Three leaders of Vidarbha region in Maharashtra have joined
hands across party affiliations to
revive in a big way the Vidarbha Statehood demand. They are Nitin Gadkari, Maharashtra BJP
President, NCP leader Datta Megha and the Vidarbha Rajya Party (VRP) President
Banwari Lal Purohit. The three have joined hands to “seek justice for Vidarbha”
amid a growing perception that the Democratic Front Government of Maharashtra continues
to ignore the development of the region.
Their main grudge? Mounting suicides by the farmers. Even as this column is being written, reports
have come of suicides by another seven farmers.
The new bonding between the three top leaders of the region may have its
fall-out in Maharashtra and hurt the BJP’s relationship with Shiv Sena, which
is totally opposed to the creation of a separate State of Vidarbha.
* * * *
Modi Supreme In Gujarat
BJP
Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s hold over the ruling Gujarat
BJP is complete. His nominee, Purshottam
Rupala has become the next president of the State BJP, while the dissident leader, his bete noire and former Chief
Minister Keshubhai Patel virtually boycotted the election process. He stayed away when Rupala filed his nomination
in the presence of the Central Observer Ram Naik. Patel’s group had earlier complained
to the High Command that the Chief Minister had packed all the district and
taluka level committees with his supporters and therefore the election process had no relevance.
With the High Command ignoring the dissidents’
plea and Modi’s nominee taking over the State party presidentship, Keshubhai’s
political future may slip into wilderness
once more.
* * * *
Mufti’s Formula For
Kashmir
Former Chief Minister and founder of the People’s Democratic
Party, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed has now advocated self-rule for Kashmir “which the
kingdom enjoyed 400 years ago.” Before leaving for New York as a member of the
Indian delegation to the U.N. General Assembly,
Mufti told his party workers last week that he would use his visit to strive
for the resolution of the Kashmir issue
during his stay in the US. His formula:
No imposition of Article 356 of the Constitution of India on the people of
Kashmir, an elected Governor who is a State subject, provincial Assemblies for all the three regions as a part of the
regional federation, local administrative and police services and economic free
trade zone. Mufti wants the same formula
for the Pak-occupied Kashmir (PoK), with facility to the people from both sides
for free movement of trade and services. He has sought cooperation of all
political parties to adopt his formula to resolve the Kashmir problem.
* * * *
Foreigners For Goa
Comfort
Believe it or not, some 500 foreigners have made huge real
estate investment in Goa. Most of them
are Russians, followed by Germans
and Britons. They have taken advantage of India’s liberalized foreign direct
investment (FDI) regime and pumped in huge money into the coastal State. They have cornered huge tracts of land, to
build large estates and attract international tourists to what they describe as
Goa’s “coastal comfort”. This
development has caught the eye of the National Security Council (NSC), as also
the Union Home Ministry and the State Government. The NSC considers it as a “potential threat
to national security via FDI”. The
State Government too has instituted an enquiry into the whole issue. Its finding are eagerly awaited---INFA
(Copyright, India News and Feature
Alliance)
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